Cazzy

If our pouch is behaving as it should, shouldn't the food be pushed through the band in one minute? Would your situation be an example of a pouch that is not behaving normal?
I can see if the band is too tight that food may not go through in one minute, but for me, I can eat two bites and be stuck if I am too tight, eat too big or too fast. For me, the discomfort of having more than two bites in my pouch is very uncomfortable and it stops me from eating anything until the obstruction is cleared. Stuffing 1 cup or even 1/2 cup in my pouch would be incredibly painful and ultimately impossible.
Are you saying that your pouch did not give off any indication that it was full, such as a stuck episode?
I do recall maybe a year ago someone else reported a dilated pouch and esophogus and it puzzled me as to how that could happen since getting stuck is so uncomfortable for me that I can't imagine dilating my pouch or esophogus due to the pain involved?
I did notice that a small study indicated that this happens with patients with pre-existing conditions? "Patients with pre-existing LES insufficiency appear to be at risk for pouch dilatation and esophageal decompensation despite normal band position and normal stomal width"
Well, that sucks huh? Good luck. Are you going to have your band removed, unfilled or stay the course?
tmf

My plastic surgeon told me there was no exercise that could get rid of sagging skin, preventing it relies on slow weight loss, moisturising, keeping hydrated, keeping fit and filling some of the void with muscle tone etc and just normal good skin care. To be honest sagging skin is more a result of hormones, genetics, age and amount of weight you have to lose.
The younger you are the more chance you stand of not getting saggy skin, but its a lottery even then, I had all my saggy skin removed in a total of 28 hours surgery over 3 operations, there was nothing i could do to prevent the saggy skin so i had it removed surgically.

My plastic surgeon told me there was no exercise that could get rid of sagging skin, preventing it relies on slow weight loss, moisturising, keeping hydrated, keeping fit and filling some of the void with muscle tone etc and just normal good skin care. To be honest sagging skin is more a result of hormones, genetics, age and amount of weight you have to lose.
The younger you are the more chance you stand of not getting saggy skin, but its a lottery even then, I had all my saggy skin removed in a total of 28 hours surgery over 3 operations, there was nothing i could do to prevent the saggy skin so i had it removed surgically.

Its unlikely after 1 fill you will any restriction at all, some people take 4 to 5 fills to find the right fill amount, some take longer others a shorter time, but in general terms 1 fill hardly notices on most people

"Nobody likes a lecture".....Oh the irony! Lecturing the forum to not lecture in one of your first posts is quite ironic isn't it? I don't know if your comment looked good in your mind or are you just staking out your territory as the new kid on the playground?
Many people come here for advice. Some may look at the advice as a lecture, others may see it as guidance to make it through some tough times. Some people come to the forum and need support, positive support, some come to inspire others with their success and others need a kick in the a$$.
Many members only post supportive comments. Some of us(me) seem to lean more towards the no bull, just the facts kind of comments that can be misconstrued to be mean or lecturous.
Take the comments as you want, leave the ones you don't want. Sorry if this sounds like a lecture, it's not. It's advice from just one forum member. Welcome to the forum and I look forward to your supportive comments!
tmf

Its unlikely after 1 fill you will any restriction at all, some people take 4 to 5 fills to find the right fill amount, some take longer others a shorter time, but in general terms 1 fill hardly notices on most people

I too was told before surgery that some foods will be off limits. Steak, bread, some fibrous fruits, rice and so on. So far, I can eat anything as long as I eat like a bandster.
tmf

Actually, it's a big misconception that there will be all these foods you can never eat again. Some people do have specific problem foods but even that list is short.
Many of us, myself included, can still eat anything we want so long as we take small bites and chew thoroughly.
This is just my personal opinion, but I would stop with your bucket list of food. All that will do is result in unnecessary weight gain before surgery. After you're past the post op healing phase you'll likely be able to eat it all again, anyway.
Best wishes.

The sweet spot for many of us is when you can eat one cup of food and feel satisfied for 4-5 hours. The sweet spot or green zone is elusive and transparent. I had it for many months and didn't know it. I caved to my head hunger/cravings since I wasn't able to tell the difference. Feeling full is not the same as being in the green zone. That just means you ate too much. Hopefully it's more apparent to you.
tmf

Honestly? I think genetics, amount of weight to lose, and age have a lot more to do with saggy skin than anything. You can exercise like crazy but some people just have excess skin after weight loss.

237 lbs since january 2011

Feeling a little better now .. some pics of how much skin overall was removed in 11 months 3 Operations and a total of 28 hours surgery.
My surgeon is extremely cautious and takes her time with all surgeries she has done for me. I had a total stay in hospital of 13 days .
Only complication i experienced was allergies to the medical adhesives causing stitch abscesses when i had my thigh lift in October 2012. I also developed an encapsulated seroma in my thigh which was removed when i had my maxoplasty 8 days ago. I developed a haematoma in my left breast and ended up with an additional 2 hours in surgery and 4 pints of blood transfusion.
My band is playing up due to the swelling from all the iv fluids but overall i am feeling much better and looking forward to no more surgery and no more scars
good luck to all of you contemplating skin removal.
   

Absolutely.
I weigh every day first thing in the morning, the scales keep me accountable to myself. I only write the weight down once a week tho, but it is a documented fact that people who weigh themselves regularly are less likely to gain the weight back.
I got to 400 lbs by not weighing myself, would u really be aggravated at a friend if they said u look like u put a lb of weight on, just treat the scales like a friend, and if they show a lb increase use it as motivation to work harder the next day.
I would hate to weigh myself at lesser intervals and find i had put on a few lbs and not know why. Everyday allows u to recall what u did the day before and pinpoint maybe what caused a weight gain.
I agree we are all different and many people manage fine just weighing at the doctors office or only 1 a week or month, but that wouldnt work for me, i have maintained my weight loss for nearly a year now and maintaining a 237 lb weight loss takes a lot of hard work and determination, the scales help me in that determination.

Absolutely.
I weigh every day first thing in the morning, the scales keep me accountable to myself. I only write the weight down once a week tho, but it is a documented fact that people who weigh themselves regularly are less likely to gain the weight back.
I got to 400 lbs by not weighing myself, would u really be aggravated at a friend if they said u look like u put a lb of weight on, just treat the scales like a friend, and if they show a lb increase use it as motivation to work harder the next day.
I would hate to weigh myself at lesser intervals and find i had put on a few lbs and not know why. Everyday allows u to recall what u did the day before and pinpoint maybe what caused a weight gain.
I agree we are all different and many people manage fine just weighing at the doctors office or only 1 a week or month, but that wouldnt work for me, i have maintained my weight loss for nearly a year now and maintaining a 237 lb weight loss takes a lot of hard work and determination, the scales help me in that determination.

Actually I can take this one a bit further. 'If you can't love yourself then how can you possibly expect someone else to love you'.
I was in a bad place for a very long time....I'm no longer in that place anymore but when I do look in the mirror and all I see is that 500lb person. Mentally I am there but visually I have not caught up yet. Still a long road to go but healing takes time just like weight loss does.

I feel the same way
Ironically I feel the like I weigh 1000 lbs on the days that I pigged out and feel better when I eat well (even if on the scale my weight didn't change at all on each of those days),
In general the more weight I lose the more I stare at myself in the mirror and see my flaws (blub rolls, chubby cheeks, dark circles under my eyes etc.) whereas when I was morbidly obese I never noticed since I avoided mirrors altogether

I was just wondering how many of us after losing weight. Whether at goal or not do you still look in the mirror an see youself as fat. Or feel yourself fat maybe in the face (chubby cheeks) or something.
I havent loss tons of weight but i weigh less now than i have in a decade but i still see myself as fat. Maybe even more now than when i first started. I dont get it. People notice my thinner self even my teenage sons comment on it. But i dont see it.
Sorry for rambling just wondering if there is anyone else out yhere going through the same thing. Or if you did what did you do to correct your view of yourself??

That year has gone quick and u are doing great !

175 total since Oct 2011. 137lbs since band surgery. Next Tuesday will be one year!!

Absolutely.
I weigh every day first thing in the morning, the scales keep me accountable to myself. I only write the weight down once a week tho, but it is a documented fact that people who weigh themselves regularly are less likely to gain the weight back.
I got to 400 lbs by not weighing myself, would u really be aggravated at a friend if they said u look like u put a lb of weight on, just treat the scales like a friend, and if they show a lb increase use it as motivation to work harder the next day.
I would hate to weigh myself at lesser intervals and find i had put on a few lbs and not know why. Everyday allows u to recall what u did the day before and pinpoint maybe what caused a weight gain.
I agree we are all different and many people manage fine just weighing at the doctors office or only 1 a week or month, but that wouldnt work for me, i have maintained my weight loss for nearly a year now and maintaining a 237 lb weight loss takes a lot of hard work and determination, the scales help me in that determination.

Every day here, but I have gotten past being bothered by fluctuations. The scale is my accountability partner.

Every day, twice a day. Morning and night. I've never really understood why someone would get aggravated over seeing their weight every day? If you understand that your weight isn't only a result of losing fat and that it's also a result of TOM, sodium intake, stress, carbs, it's easy to accept what the scale indicates. If I eat two slices of pizza I know my weight will probably be 2 lbs higher since I've consumed simple carbs and lots of sodium. My body will retain 32 ozs of fluids due to my poor food choices. I accept that.
And, if I am gaining weight, why would I want to wait till the end of week or month? I want to correct my behavior as quickly as I possiblty can. That's me.
tmf

I weigh everyday and always have. Nothing worse than weighing once a week and finding out you have gained weight because you weren't monitoring yourself.

Mike I am 2 and 1/2 years post op, i cannot actually see my scars from the lapband, i would describe them as just like a bad acne scar, its keyhole surgery and the scars on the outside even if they were bigger are nothing to the scarring going on inside your body because of how heavy you are.
I started off at 400 lbs myself, i never thought i would do this, but i have, i only wish this operation had been around when i was your age, grab life with both hands and make it happen, life will pass you by if you dont ... good luck and i really hope this works out for you.

I had saggy skin everywhere, but i had lost 237 lbs, theres many factors that contribute to sagging skin, amount of weight u lose, age, hormones, genetics etc, if u are going to get it theres not much u can do about it, is saggy skin worse than skin filled with fat ? i wore my saggy skin like a badge of honour till i had surgery to get rid of it all, but even without the plastic surgery losing weight was far more important. You have to ask yourself why u are worrying about saggy skin, but didnt worry about stretching it by being heavy
concentrate on things u can change and not things u cant ( not without money and surgery anyways )